Effective Teaching
Practices for the Expanded
Core Curriculum (ECC)
AER 2006
Karen Blankenship
Iowa Department of Education
Karen.Blankenship@iowa.gov
Mary Ann Siller
American Foundation for the Blind
siller@afb.net
KWL

Please complete these sections:
– K-What you know about effective teaching practices
for the ECC
– W-What you want to learn about effective teaching
practices for the ECC
Project CRISS (1988). http://www.projectcriss.org
Session Objective
 Participants
will be able to
articulate examples and rationale
for effective teaching practices for
the ECC
AER-Division 16 Position Paper
Caseload Based on Student’s
Assessed Needs: Instructional
Continuum
 Read
Silently
 Complete Pair Share
 Report to Group
Components of Instructional
Continuum for the ECC
Functional Vision Assessment (FVA)
 Learning Media Assessment (LMA)
 ECC content areas
 Other Educational Assessment

Functional Vision Assessment
– Observe how a student uses vision to
complete daily activities with a variety of
materials
– Determine the degree to which the visual
impairment interferes with learning
– Identify ways to increase the efficiency of
visual functioning
Learning Media Assessment
 Process
of systematically gathering
objective information to provide a
basis for selecting appropriate learning
and literacy media for students who are
blind and visually impaired
 (Koenig & Holbrook-TSBVI)
ECC Content Areas




Accessing Assistive
Technology
Career Education
Compensatory Skills,
including braille,
functional academics and
communication and
tactile graphics
Independent Living





Orientation & Mobility
Recreation and Leisure
Self-determination
Social Interaction
Visual Efficiency
Expanded Core Curriculum
(ECC) Content Areas
 Complete
assessments identified as priority
instructional areas by families, students, and
other educational partners.
 Resources
– RECC-TSBVI site
– Iowa ECC Resource Guide
– http://www.uncc.edu/sdsp/sd_curricular.asp
Other Educational Assessments
 Complete
educational assessments in
the areas of general education (reading,
math, and science, social studies or
other areas) that are developmentally
appropriate, valid and reliable for
students who are blind or visually
impaired.
– Goodman, S., & Wittenstein, S.
Collaborative Assessment (2003). AFB
Press
IEP Development
IDEA 2004
Section 612
IEP Development:

A. Academic Outcomes
B. Functional Outcomes ( this is the Expanded Core Curriculum for
TVIs
IDEA 2004 language That Supports Effective Teaching
and TVIs:
Functional skill areas pulled out for the IEP
Annual Measurable Goals (for students with alternate assessments
they remain with short-term objectives)
Qualified Personnel in the development of the IEP
Assessment in functional areas
Instruction and On-going Probes

Rigor & Relevance Framework for
Student Learning
– A= Acquisition
– B= Application
– C= Assimilation
– D=Adaptation
Rigor and Relevance for Student
Learning (Independent Living)

Feed self using a spoon or fingers

Use a fork, spoon, or fingers as appropriate for
particular foods

Demonstrate skills in eating unusual or hard to
handle foods

Demonstrate the ability to adjust eating behaviors
within a variety of situations
Instructional Strategies That
Work (Explicit Teaching)



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Self-monitoring
Reinforcement
Self-questioning
Drill & Practice
Strategy instruction
Feedback
Direct instruction
Repeated reading
Kavale (2005), Learning Disabilities, 13 (4)

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Error correction
Formative evaluation
Peer mediation
Diagnosticprescriptive
instruction
Peer tutoring
Increased time
Effective Teaching for the ECC
Resources


Project CRISS: CReating
Impendence through
Student-owned Strategies
(800-542-6657)
Classroom Instruction
that Works –ResearchBased Strategies
(www.ascd.org)

Rigor and Relevance
Handbook
(www.LeaderEd.com )

Teaching at its Best: A
Research-Based Resource
for College Instructors
(Anker Publishing
Company, 176 Ballville
Rd., P.O. Box 249 Bolton,
MA 01740)
Effective Teaching for the ECC
Resources
Iowa ECC Resource Guide
(being revised-contact
Karen.Blankenship@iowa.gov)


Learning Media Assessment:
A Resource Guide for
Teachers 2nd Edition
(www.tsbvi.edu)

The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act: A
Comparison of IDEA 1997
and H.R. 1350 as passed by
Congress on November 19,
2004 (NASDSE 703-5193800 or www.nasdse.org)
Effective Teaching for the ECC
Resources
Resources for ECC:
www.tsbvi.edu/recc/
E-Advisor web
site: http://www.eadvisor.us/
Self-Determination
Synthesis Project:
http://www.uncc.edu/sdsp/
home.asp.
National Longitudinal
Transition Study:
www.nlts2.org
Conclusion

KWL
– Please complete the L on your KWL and leave
it on the seat

Personal Growth Plan
– Please complete after this session to continue
your learning
Quote
I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the
decisive element in the classroom. It's my
personal approach that creates the climate. It's
my daily mood that makes the weather. As a
teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make
a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of
torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can
humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations,
it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated and a child
humanized or dehumanized
Haim Ginott, child psychologist and teacher
Be the change you wish to see in
the world”
Gandhi
Contact Information
Dr. Karen Blankenship
Consultant for Visual
Disabilities
BCFCS
Grimes State Office Bldg.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-281-7972
Email:
Karen.Blankenship@iowa.
gov
Mary Ann Siller, M.Ed
American Foundation for
the Blind
National Center on Vision
Loss
11030 Ables Lane
Dallas, Texas 72229
469-522-1803
siller@afb.net
Our Children Are Our Future